We went to Ukraine last year to do some volunteer work. Fell in love with the kids and a wonderful city named L'viv. The city center is a world heritage site and has more of a typical European feel to the architecture than is seen in the eastern cities of Ukraine. Spring and Fall are a great time to visit. Food and lodging are fairly inexpensive compared to the major cities in the neighboring countries to the west. Through USAID funds, some of the students we met while we were there, had the opportunity to travel to the US and become much better acquainted with the American legal system. We had a great time showing them around our community. Even a trip to Walmart was an adventure for them. However 2 of them became lost in the store and decided to go out and sit on the patio furniture to wait for the others, causing some confusion inside the store. In the process of trying to locate them, the intern who was not lost overheard one Walmart employee asking another "Where is Ukraine" ? A fellow employee replied... "It's in Russia"! Ksenia just rolled her eyes! NOT! The language can be a challenge, but most of the younger students there have a good grasp of English. Taking the time to learn a few basics with the Ukrainian language will help you have a better experience.
So -2 things not to miss if you travel to L'viv:
 |
| A village which has been painstakingly re-created to portray a typical Ukrainian culture of long ago |
 |
| with a wonderful display of hand painted antique Ukrainian Pottery. |
 |
| ..and the Cemetery,with it's powerful grieving sculptures created to honor the dead. |
..
